The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Sara Kovalchuk

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Sara Kovalchuk

Summary

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the story of a boy named Amir Jan. Amir goes through several things throughout the story dealing with family, friendships, and many feelings. Amir is filled with guilt of watching his best friend get raped, has family problems beyond complicated and feelings of sadness, frustration, and love. He must find a way to get through it all and move on, but in his path comes many barriers from his past and even a little boy. Sohrab, Hassan’s son, is Amir’s way of curing his guilt and fulfilling his quest to be good again. In the end, his quest isn’t quite finished but he is very close to achieving his goal and being who he should have been 26 years ago. Filled with betrayal, salvation, and vivid cruelty, this life story of an Afghan male reminds us how long and hard his people have been fighting to gain victory over forces of violence.

Character Analysis

Amir Agha is a not-so-independent boy in the beginning who comes out in the end to be an independent selfless man. Amir can be very selfish at times but cares for his family and the ones he loves greatly. He often let's others intimidate him and get in the way of his path. Most would think he is a coward but in the end he turns out to be a brave man that cares little to not at all about what others think of him.

"For you, a thousand times over, I heard myself say."

-- Amir (page 371) Amir says this as he's running the kite for Sohrab. The importance of this quote is that it's what Hassan says to Amir when Amir wins the tournament in Afghanistan as a child. It shows that Amir has grown into a man and acknowledged the friendship that he and Hassan had. It also shows that he is recoiling his relationship with Sohrab.

Conflict/Resolution

Amir goes through several things in the book, the biggest being the fight with himself. (character vs self) Dealing with his guilt, feelings, love, pain, past etc. Guilt of watching Hassan get raped, father-son relationship problems with Baba, getting bullied by Assef, death of Baba, finding out through Rahim Khan (who was dying) that Hassan was killed and all that was left was his son Sohrab, finding out the news of Hassan actually being his half brother, trying to get Sohrab back to the United States, and fixing and building his relationship with Sohrab. Amir went through a lot during the book but at the end was doing quite well. Amir will always be filled with guilt, feel betrayed and be upset for many reasons but he learned to move on and keep the past in the past.

“Come. There is a way to be good again, Rahim Khan had said on the phone just before hanging up. Said it in passing, almost as an afterthought” (page 192)

Theme

There are many different themes that could go alone with The Kite Runner but I think the best one is this:

You have to learn to go for what you want and believe in. Don't let others or even yourself get in the way of you. Learn to stick up for yourself and others to be a better you for you.

Readers can take away things such as self confidence, having faith, and being brave and courageous from this theme.

Textual Evidence

My favorite part of The Kite Runner was when Amir got Sohrab out of the place he was being held at after being taken from his foster home. This is my favorite part because the keeper turned out to be Amir's old enemy Assef. Assef made a deal with Amir and decided that they would fight and the winner got Sohrab. They fought and it wasn't looking good for Amir so, like his father, Sohrab came to rescue with his slingshot and hit Assef directly in the eye with a rock knocking him to the ground as Sohrab and Amir ran without looking back. This is my favorite because it brought old memories back and was the start of Amir and Sohrab's relationship.

I think one of the most powerful quotes from The Kite Runner was

“I actually aspired to cowardice, because the alternative, the real reason I was running, was that Assef was right: Nothing was free in this world. Maybe Hassan was the price I had to pay, the lamb I had to slay, to win Baba.” (page 77)

This quote is very powerful because it was said by Amir when he admitted to himself that he betrayed Hassan for his own benefit.

Book Review

I would rate The Kite Runner with 4 stars. I chose this rating because its a very good and well written book. It has a good plot, interesting dialogue, and it keeps you hooked and enthralled the whole time. I wouldn't give this a full 5 stars because of how confusing it is at times, but it definitely deserves 4. I would recommend this book to many.